A game of two halves; from the sublime to the ridiculous

Rating: 6/10 (21 December 2005)

'28 Days Later' could have been a Great British Horror Film. The first 45 minutes is packed with some of the most haunting and fantastic horror imagery filmed on UK shores since The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General. It is packed with brilliant compositions, such as the dead and infected lying scattered in the church, both illuminated by and mirroring the imagery in the stained glass window; Jim wandering a desolate Leicester Square in his pyjamas; the overturned red bus in a deserted street.
Unfortunately, the first warning note is sounded when Hannah (Megan Burns) is given some dialogue. What is is with British child actors these days? And once the survivors reach the military base, the film descends into Carry On territory.
While the first half was plausible, the rest will have you in stitches with its unintentional hilarity. Listen to incredible Alien 3-style 'wanker' and 'bollocks' cockney banter. Watch apparently highly trained British soldiers panic at the first sign of trouble. See a naked and untrained bicycle courier take out a 9 armed squaddies with his bare hands. Shake your head in disbelief as Jim survives a rifle-shot to the abdomen at point blank range without medical attention.
But do see this film, and think about what might have been, had someone reigned in Alex Garland's frustrated fantasies.